It was used at first as a tool for geomancy - in feng shui, and only later as an instrument for navigation and orientation. The first compasses were made of lodestone, a naturally magnetized ore of iron.
Magnetic compass is a pretty simple instrument that has a magnetic needle or a magnetized bar can turn freely upon a pivot and align itself with Earth's magnetic field and indicate the direction of the magnetic north of a planet's magnetosphere.
From that, cardinal points of north, south, east and west are very easy to determine. Before the magnetic compass was invented people new about magnetic properties of magnetite and lodestone but they were regarded as curiosities of nature. Plinius the Elder AD wrote that shepherd Magnes reported that the nails of his shoes and the iron point of his staff clung to the rocks on Mount Ida which were made of magnetite. Thales of Milet thought that magnetite had a soul that attracted stones like iron.
At first, it was used for divination, fortune-telling and geomancy, for finding precious gems and in Feng Shui but in time people discovered that it can be used for navigation and orientation.
People knew about magnetite even before then, but it took centuries for it to get at least some purpose. Earliest compasses were made of lodestone, a particular form of the mineral magnetite. The first compass was a lump of lodestone that was tied to a rope and left to hang freely. Other were also made from lodestone but were shaped like a spoon or a ladle whose handle was made to point south.
Somewhere made to work when left on the ground while other had a plate on which it stood and which had sides of the world marked on it. China military used a compass for navigational orienteering in the 11th century and for naval orienteering in 12th. Later was invented a turtle the compass, which was a type of dry compass. Its main part was a wooden turtle which had lodestone in it which was fixed with wax and had a needle sticking out. The bronze disc would be inscribed with cardinal direction points, directional indicators for various constellations and other important symbols and information.
Wet Compasses Helped Sailors and Navigators A less cumbersome compass was then developed for navigational used, especially for sea voyages. It was discovered that it was possible to magnetize an iron needle by rubbing it against the naturally-magnetized lodestone. The thin, light needle could float on a piece of wood on the surface tension of a bowl of water where it could move freely. The magnetized needle would show the sailors which direction was north. Ancient Chinese sailing ship.
By the s, magnetic compasses were being used across Europe and the Middle East. Although some historians contend that the Europeans independently created magnetic compasses from iron ore several centuries after the Chinese, most believe that the Chinese introduced their compass to the Muslims, who then shared the knowledge with Europeans.
Depiction of Marco Polo and his travels. Trade Between East and West was Flourishing During This Time It does seem more likely that Europeans and Middle Easterners learned how to use magnetized iron ore lodestones to make navigational compasses from the Chinese. It was also the time when Medieval Crusaders were making regular pilgrimages to the Holy Lands. In fact, over land travel between China, the Middle East and Europe was booming.
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